Fan Gang, former member of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) monetary policy committee, said a revaluation of the renminbi would have little positive effect on trade imbalances and could seriously hurt China’s labor situation, Bloomberg reported. Fan stressed that the renminbi was already in the process of appreciating against the dollar, as it has been since mid-June when Beijing released the peg put in place near the start of the global financial crisis. The renminbi has already gained 2% against the dollar since the ending of the peg. Fan’s comments parallel those of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who said this month that a large revaluation had potential to cause “major social upheaval.” US President Barack Obama had stated last week that China was keeping its currency cheap to help its exporters.
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